This invention relates to a construction system for a plural-level building, such as a multi-story residential building, a hotel or the like, and, more particularly, to a modular construction system wherein the building is erected from box-like modular units which are produced at a factory and which are erected at a building site. The modular units are designed to cooperate with each other so as to minimize duplication of walls, support columns and the like in such units.
Modular construction systems are known wherein each modular unit is pre-formed at a factory for final assembly at a building site, the modular units being stackable in various arrays to form a completed building. The interiors of such units also can be prepared at the factory, and various plumbing and electrical conduits, as well as heating and air circulating ducts, can be formed in the units and merely interconnected when such units are stacked to form the completed building.
In some previously proposed modular construction systems, each unit is provided with forward and rearward support columns, which columns essentially define the length and width of the unit. When stacking such units, the support columns must overlap with each other. In some constructions, these modular units can be arranged in a row of staggered configuration. But this arrangement heretofore has required at least one additional pair of support columns, typically provided intermediate the forward and rearward defining columns, to provide support for the staggered units. Furthermore, the staggered units in a row in such arrangements have their columns aligned along longitudinal axes in order to support the next row of overlying, staggered units. This additional pair of support columns for each unit adds to the cost of production and also to the overall weight of each modular unit, and tends to limit the flexibility of determining final constructional arrangements.